← Return to the worked example
Ratings points, reporting periods & posting
Keep the audience definition, time window and buying agreement together.
A point is a percentage of a defined universe
A rating point represents 1% of the specified potential audience. Household and person-demographic universes differ. In our fictional national Adults 18–49 universe of 100 million, 1.0 point equals one million people. A local-market point uses that market’s defined universe.
| Example | Calculation | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| One placement | 2.0 points × 1 million | 2 million demo impressions |
| Four placements | 2.0 + 2.0 + 2.0 + 2.0 | 8.0 gross demo points |
| Duplication | A viewer may appear in several placements | 8 million gross impressions ≠ 8 million unique people |
| CPP / CPM | $40,000 ÷ 8 points; $40,000 ÷ 8,000 thousands | $5,000 per point; $5 per thousand impressions |
Four different periods to name
Nielsen’s broadcast reporting weeks begin on Monday; published month intervals may span four or five weeks. Our teaching flight is November 2–29, 2026, exactly four Monday–Sunday weeks. That selected campaign window is not a claim that every supplier report uses those dates.
| Period | Meaning | Our example |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign flight | Dates within which the buy is scheduled | Nov 2–29 |
| Telecast / time period | The episode and slot being assessed | Mondays, 8–8:30 p.m. Eastern |
| Reporting interval | Dates included in the research report | Record report coverage and issue date |
| Playback / currency window | Viewing included in the agreed audience metric | Agreed C3 commercial audience |
Program ratings, commercial audience and sweeps
Program performance and the buying currency can answer different questions. C3 includes live and three days of playback in commercial-audience reporting; C7 uses seven days. Do not treat a live-plus-seven program rating as interchangeable with the agreed C3 commercial basis.
Historically, local diary sweeps concentrated on February, May, July and November. Continuous measurement also exists; national advertising is not evaluated only in those four months. Check the actual supplier, service, report dates and contract currency instead of waiting for a generic “ratings period.” The linked 2009 Nielsen history explains the diary/continuous distinction, not current market coverage.
Nielsen’s historical sweeps context ↗Post the order, then resolve its guarantee
Posting compares eligible actual audience delivery with the accepted commitment. Our made-up order guarantees 8.0 points, then delivers 6.0 from four correctly aired units. A 2.0-point shortfall is 25%. A buyer-approved, subsequently verified 2.0-point audience unit closes it. Do not credit the estimate for a proposed makegood, or award points to an incorrectly aired commercial without resolving its eligibility.
Keep demographic, geography, universe, currency, measurement method, guarantee scope and eligible units consistent.
Return to the ratings chapter →Sources & scope
- Nielsen measurement glossary ↗
- Nielsen: How TV audiences are measured (2023) ↗
- Nielsen: a published broadcast reporting interval (2026) ↗
- TVB: broadcast and media glossary ↗
Sources checked October 22, 2026. Vendor materials describe their own systems. Published contract examples are illustrative, dated and not universal terms. All Harbor Street records and policies are fictional.